Ante Up - Florida Needs A Lotto Sales

January 3, 1992|By ROBIN BRANCH, Staff Columnist

The Florida Lottery will require businesses to sell a minimum number of tickets or lose their machines.

Lottery officials say they want to identify weak retailers and help them improve sales, so overall lottery sales improve. The policy could take terminals for the popular Lotto game away from businesses that fall below average and free them for locations with more potential.

Businesses with terminals will be required to average at least $500 in tickets a week for the computer games and $250 in instant game tickets. Businesses selling just scratch-off tickets will have to average $75 a week. Otherwise, retailers on the Lottery`s waiting list will replace them.

It`s a threat that should light a fire under slow-selling retailers so they put more effort into peddling the tickets, Lottery Secretary Marcia Mann said.

``We will go in and help them sell more tickets,`` she said, ``but if they don`t, they will no longer be a retailer.``

---- New items, Dec. 1991

``Morning, Mrs. Hobart. Long time no see. Let me help unload your shopping cart while you try to keep the baby from drooling all over my candy display. What`s new with you?``

HUSBAND MIGHT FIND JOB

``Well as you can see, we`ve finally got little Harold here home from the hospital, Mr. Linton. He`s going to be just fine. And big Harold heard about a job he might be able to get driving a furniture delivery van, so things are looking up.``

``More than enough, Mrs. Hobart. My gosh, haven`t you heard? Lotto`s up to $23 million this week. And remember, if you don`t play, you can`t win.``

``I guess you`re right about that, Mr. Linton, but I added things up as I put them in the shopping cart. I`ve got just enough money with me to pay for this order plus maybe a few cents left over, so. ...``

``Wait! You could put the milk back. That would be enough for one Lotto ticket right there, and, um, let`s see. How about putting back the milk and the bread? Then you could buy a Lotto ticket plus a scratch-off ticket so you could be an instant winner who collects $500 right on the spot.``

TEMPTING, BUT A BIT TOO RISKY

``The $500 would come in handy, Mr. Linton, but I can`t do that. Little Harold`s got to have the milk. And if Big Harold gets that job, we`ll need the bread for his sandwiches so. ...``

``Holy cow, Mrs. Hobart. Don`t you know how many quarts of milk you could buy for $23 million? And bread? If you had $23 million, you could buy an entire bakery, for crying out loud. Or, OK. Maybe you need the milk. But what about the oatmeal? You could put back the oatmeal, couldn`t you? It`s for education, Mrs. Hobart.``